First Drive: 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1

By Shaun Bailey • Photos by Marc Urbano
Article file under http://www.roadandtrack.com/
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This is not a happy day for other exotic-car owners. The $103,000 super Vette, the ZR1, is out. Its 638 horsepower was unleashed on a select group of journalists at GM's Milford proving grounds near Detroit for a controlled drive. A testament to the ZR1's civility and balance is the fact that no one crashed, although a few orange cones were sacrificed to Jake. Who's Jake, you ask? He's the evil-eyed skull mascot for Badboy Vettes that's emblazoned on the C6.R racer and has made his first appearance on a production Corvette, worn proudly on the ZR1's intake ducting.





Rather than see journalists jeopardize their driver's licenses by letting Jake out onto the street, GM had us drive their new baby around what is commonly referred to as the Lutz ring — a technical track whose corners simulate those from great circuits the world over. The focus is testing driveability. Most notable is the bowl-turn that simulates the Nürburgring's famous carousel.



For our limited drive, we were kept off the bowl and our speeds were hampered by a mid-course cone chicane. Even so, our top speed was well above 100 mph and nearly the entire track could be done in 3rd gear. With the massive twist of 604 lb.-ft. of torque on tap, it behooved us to avoid dropping to 2nd gear, except for the slowest of corners.

As expected, the supercharged LS9 superbly blends the Z06's raucous LS7 with the smoothness of the modern LS3. At idle there is only a hushed V-8 warble, yet get to 3000 rpm with intent and a pleasant snarl emanates. Knowing that there is an extra 133 horsepower on tap, beyond the already terror-instilling Z06's 505, I worked my way up to applying full throttle. Surprisingly, the ZR1 is far superior to the Z06 in driveability, refinement and speed.

Everything we gripe about in the Z06 — aside from the unsupportive seats — has been remedied. The twitchy rear end is gone, thanks to Magnetic Ride Control that allows for softer springs and heavier anti-roll bars. At times on the track I'd think, If I were in a Z06, I'd never go flat over this rise, but in the ZR1 the confidence and road-holding abilities are there.

Surely, the custom-made run-flat Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires have something to do with the car's confidence-inspiring grip, but really it's a combination of all the things the Corvette Team has done, like losing 22 pounds of unsprung mass. Unfortunately this savings didn't make up for the additional 182 lb. on board as the ZR1 weighs 3325 lb., 160 lb. more than the Z06.

Even with the extra weight, the carbon-ceramic Brembo brakes with the new Bosch brake controls are fantastic. Not as light feeling as the Z06 pedal, the ZR1's takes a heavy linear pressure, but rewards with consistency and repeatability. A new non-linear steering rack gives improved response that necessitates fewer steering inputs, but doesn't result in a heavy or quick off-center feel. Bending the car through the corners is easy and doesn't induce a lot of sweat. At the limit in steady-state flat cornering, the ZR1 exhibits light understeer; surprisingly, it doesn't step the rear end out easily under quick transitions or overly aggressive throttle inputs.

This is likely due to the intelligent damping system of the Magnetic Ride Control and smooth torque delivery. The MRC system is transparent, but adapts to driving situations. For example, drag launches are recognized and the system optimally sets the rear dampers to full soft. There is no launch control — yet. With two nominal settings of Touring and Sport being manually selectable, the driver can adjust ride harshness, making the trip to the track more livable than in a Z06.

There's something ridiculous about a street car that can do 66 mph in 1st gear and has a tight-ratio 6-speed that allows for a top speed in excess of 200 mph. Who can afford the gasoline or the speeding tickets? However, it must be noted that for "social responsibility," said Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter, there is an electronic limiter set for 210 mph. Yet if one disabled the limiter and managed to turn up the boost beyond 10.5 psi, the ZR1 runs out of gear at 215 mph. It's only a matter of time before a tuned ZR1 breaks that barrier.

So, if you own a Viper, Ferrari, Porsche or other supercar that typically picks on the Corvette, let this be a warning — as it might have a little Jake lurking under the hood.

2009 Corvette zr1 First Drive

Article file under http://jalopnik.com/5037293/
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The 2009 Corvette ZR1 is the best car ever made. It redefines what performance cars are capable of, not by its numbers (the 0-to-60 in 3.3 seconds and a 205 MPH top speed figures are no longer noteworthy north of $100,000), but by how it makes those numbers so accessible. Simply put, the ZR1's most remarkable achievement is how easy and unintimidating the chassis makes exploiting the car's 638 HP. The only problem is I'm not good enough a driver to fully do so.







While based on the standard car's LS3 V8, the ZR1's LS9 makes its power with the aid of a Roots-type supercharger whose intercooler cover is visible through the tacky Lexan hood window. With 638 HP and 604 lb-ft of torque, its speed should come as no surprise, but its character will. Equipped with a dual-mode exhaust, there's little hint of its performance at low speed, the RPMs dipping if you pull away on light throttle. Up to 2,500 RPM (about all you need on the road -- it delivers 320 lb-ft at 1,000 RPM), it feels like something that belongs in a big German luxury car. It's torquey, quiet and, combined with the ZR1's 3,364 lb curb weight, it makes driving effortless.

It's when you begin to climb into higher RPMs at larger throttle openings that the LS9's performance reveals itself in its absurd volume. A second exhaust valve opens, taking the engine note from refined to apocalyptic. The all-consuming sound focuses your attention on nothing but the road in front of you. But it lacks any aural indication of its supercharger. For reasons that escape us, the Corvette engineers went through elaborate steps to eliminate the whine, even doubling the number of teeth on the lobe drive gears to move their sound beyond the human ear's range of perception. Tap into the loud zone and everything in front starts to come at you very fast. 300 HP arrives at just 3,000 RPM before peaking at 6,500, leaving 100 RPM before the redline. The close-ratio gearbox (unique to the ZR1) means shifts come fast, but the wide spread of power and torque means you can leave it in third for pretty much anything above 30 MPH.

Like the engine, that gearbox does little to hint at the ZR1's ultimate performance. A twin-disc clutch leads to easy pedal throw, while a precise gate makes finding gears simple. This isn't a fire-breathing monster, but instead a car anyone could drive competently -- even for long distances (it's comfortable) or at high speeds (its limits are so high that you need to try very hard to find them).